I haven't posted or visited here in quite a while but I fgure I'll put in my 2 cents worth about my experiences.
First, a little background:
I left a caeer as a same-day courier to head out OTR as a truck driver 2 years ago. I applied at and was accepted into Swift's Driver Training Academy in Lewiston, ID. After 3 weeks of school, I passed the WA state CDL exam. Swift officially hired me mid August 2010. I trained wth a mentor for 5 weeks and then was assigned my 1st truck which was a 2010 International Pro Star.
I ran all 48 states sarting out. I got to see every state except FL,VT,ME. I transferred to the 11 western region after about a year. I much preferred running the west although once in a while I got offered an east coast load which I would run and then get worked back west.
The equipment at Swift was very good(tractors) and the shops would fix watever needed to be done with usually little fuss. I would be put up in a motel if my truck was in said shop if repairs took a few days. I was also paid "shop pay" of $50/day. The trailers were another thing entirely. Many of the trailers had major issues. Swift is replacing trailers at a good clip now but with something like 40,000 trailers, that takes a while.
I had a good DM and we had good communication. I learned pretty quickly that one has to be very proactive with various dispatchers, DM's, planners, and mechs if one wanted to fix an issue or communicate something wanted or needed.
Swift has a very aggressive safety stance. It served me well as a newbie but turned into the feeling of having training wheels on a bicycle that were never removed even after you were good rider. I fully understand why Swift does this, a steady stream of brand new drivers and a need to reduce accident/incident/DOT costs.
More later............
